Chelsea continued their unbeaten run under Graham Potter last night with a 1-1 draw with Manchester United. The Blues boss has won five of his opening three games since replacing Thomas Tuchel in September to place the club in the top four.
The draw with Erik ten Hag's men leaves Chelsea one point above their opponents in the Premier League table. Jorginho's third goal of the season looked as though it would be enough when he converted from the penalty spot in the 87th minute, but Casemiro's first goal for United meant the shares were spoiled.
With the World Cup around the corner, Potter's side have three more league games to tick off before more than a month away from action. They do also have three cup clashes to contest in the same period, with the final two Champions League group game fixtures against RB Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb followed by the EFL Cup trip to Manchester City.
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Solidifying their place in the Premier League top four and pushing further up the table will be on the priority list over the next month. football.london has compared Chelsea's final three games before the World Cup and the first two on their return with their rivals at the top of the table.
Brighton (A) - October 29
After the trip to Austria on Tuesday evening to face Salzburg, Potter will make a return to the AMEX Stadium to face off against his former side. Brighton have not managed to win since he departed for Stamford Bridge in September, with Roberto De Zerbi implementing his ideas to the group of players.
After drawing 3-3 at Liverpool and narrowly losing to Tottenham, the Seagulls have drawn 0-0 with Nottingham Forest and picked up two further defeats at the hands of Brentford and Manchester City. Despite their lack of victories since Potter's exit, they remain in eighth place - six points behind Chelsea.
Arsenal (H) - November 6
Like Brentford, Chelsea will come into this league game on the back of a midweek clash in the Champions League. However, with qualification secured, the option to rotate against Zagreb will provide freshness to Potter's squad for the visit of league leaders Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta's men have been on red-hot form this season, winning nine of their 10 league games to place themselves into an early campaign title chase. Victories over Tottenham and Liverpool have made people take notice of the Gunners, but will face a Chelsea side looking to spoil their party in West London.
Newcastle (A) - November 12
The fixtures don't get any easier for the Blues with a trip up north to face Newcastle. Eddie Howe's men have shocked a fair few people this campaign with four wins in 11 games to put themselves in the Premier League top six.
Chelsea are undefeated against the Magpies since January 2020 and have been victorious in their previous four meetings. Last season, the Blues ran out 3-0 winners at St James' Park, but now under new ownership and Howe, the fixture will provide a difficult test.
Bournemouth (H) - December 26
Chelsea return to football on Boxing Day and will be hoping to have most of their players returning from Qatar without any injuries. The Cherries have endured a solid return to the top flight and currently sit 13th with 13 points.
In recent history, the Blues have failed to beat the Cherries - their last league win came in 2018. Potter will be hoping to avoid a repeat of Bournemouth's 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge in January of the same year.
Nottingham Forest (A) - December 31
2022 will conclude with a trip to the Midlands to face Steve Cooper's Nottingham Forest. They have struggled in their first term back in the Premier League for 23 years, but picked up a much-needed win this weekend by beating Liverpool 1-0.
The fixture will be the first top flight meeting since 1999, where goals from Mikael Forssell and a Bjarne Goldbæk brace handed Gianluca Vialli's men all three points.
Arsenal's next five fixtures:
Southampton (A) - Today
Nottingham Forest (H) - October 30
Chelsea (A) - November 6
Wolves (A) - November 12
West Ham (H) - December 26
Tottenham's next five fixtures:
Newcastle (H) - Today
Bournemouth (A) - October 29
Liverpool (H) - November 6
Leeds (H) - November 12
Brentford (A) - December 26
Manchester City's next five fixtures
Leicester City (A) - October 29
Fulham (H) - November 5
Brentford (H) - November 12
Leeds (A) - December 26
Everton (H) - December 31
Manchester United's next five fixtures
West Ham (H) - October 30
Aston Villa (A) - November 6
Fulham (A) - November 13
Nottingham Forest (H) - December 26
Wolves (A) - December 31
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